Housemate 'was at crime scene'

The American housemate of murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher was present at the scene of the crime, it has emerged.

A bloody fingerprint belonging to Amanda Knox was found on a tap in the bathroom next to Miss Kercher's bedroom, according to the lead investigator in the case, Giuliano Mignini.

Knox has denied being present at the house in Perugia on the night of November 1, when Miss Kercher died after having her throat slit.

Three people are currently in custody in connection with the killing - Knox, 20, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 23, and 20-year-old Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivorian with joint Italian nationality who is awaiting extradition from Germany.

A fourth man, Congolese bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, 38, was released from custody last week but remains a suspect in the case. All four deny sexually assaulting and murdering Miss Kercher.

Local reports also suggested that a decision had been made not to carry out a second post-mortem examination on Miss Kercher's body.

The decision came after more than 10 hours of discussions over two days between lawyers and experts in the case, and clears the way for Miss Kercher's body to be released to her family for burial. They had been arguing over whether results from the initial examination were sufficient to more accurately establish the time and cause of the victim's death.

The revelations about Knox came in a 36-page document submitted to Ms Matteini ahead of a hearing on Friday which will review the evidence against Knox and Sollecito.

Mr Mignini recommended that neither suspect be released, saying there was a high chance Knox might try to flee the country.